One person is behind bars in Placer County and two others are on the run, accused in a multi-county used car scam.Detectives arrested Michael Tanase in Oklahoma on July 23."What these suspects would do is they would see a vehicle listed for sale on the marketplace or Craigslist or anywhere that individual parties might be selling cars, and they would schedule a meetup. They'd arrive with three people. While one person would go to inspect the engine, the other two would distract the seller. And while they were distracting the seller, the other person would pour oil on top of the engine," said Elise Soviar, Placer County Sherriff’s spokesperson.The suspects would then ask for a test drive and once the car's engine would start to put off smoke they would convince the seller there was something wrong with the vehicle."The suspect would say don't worry, we're willing to buy the car. We can fix it. And they would give a really low offer," said Soviar. Detectives determined the same group of suspects was likely linked to cases being investigated by several agencies, including the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office, Stockton Police Department, Riverside County Sheriff's Office, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office, San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and Corona Police Department. Detectives filed three cases of felony vandalism and felony theft by false pretense against Michael Tanase, Constatin Mustata and Florin Tanase."Our suspect, Michael Tanase, was actually taken into custody for being drunk in public. After he was taken into custody and booked, that's when the department in Oklahoma realized that he had a warrant for his arrest," said Soviar. These car-buying scams are not all that uncommon."It's pretty sad. Nowadays when times are getting rough, people are just trying every way possible to scam other people," said Raha Ahmadi.Ahmadi, the owner of "Cars R Us" in Rocklin, has been in the used car business for over 15 years. "I would recommend that if there is a way for you to know where the customer is coming from, if you get the lead from Facebook or from different sources of advertisem*nt, really just go deep into it and try to see if the customers are legit," said Ahmadi.Law enforcement agencies recommend finding a well-lit place to do these types of transactions and don’t feel pressured to sell."Never go alone. If you're going to meet with somebody else you should also be bringing somebody else. Ask different questions about how many people they might be bringing with them as well to help prepare, but never go alone," said Soviar. Placer County deputies flew to Oklahoma and brought Tanase back to California. He has since been booked in the Placer County Jail. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter
One person is behind bars in Placer County and two others are on the run, accused in a multi-county used car scam.
Detectives arrested Michael Tanase in Oklahoma on July 23.
Advertisem*nt
"What these suspects would do is they would see a vehicle listed for sale on the marketplace or Craigslist or anywhere that individual parties might be selling cars, and they would schedule a meetup. They'd arrive with three people. While one person would go to inspect the engine, the other two would distract the seller. And while they were distracting the seller, the other person would pour oil on top of the engine," said Elise Soviar, Placer County Sherriff’s spokesperson.
The suspects would then ask for a test drive and once the car's engine would start to put off smoke they would convince the seller there was something wrong with the vehicle.
"The suspect would say don't worry, we're willing to buy the car. We can fix it. And they would give a really low offer," said Soviar.
Detectives determined the same group of suspects was likely linked to cases being investigated by several agencies, including the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office, Stockton Police Department, Riverside County Sheriff's Office, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office, San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and Corona Police Department.
Detectives filed three cases of felony vandalism and felony theft by false pretense against Michael Tanase, Constatin Mustata and Florin Tanase.
"Our suspect, Michael Tanase, was actually taken into custody for being drunk in public. After he was taken into custody and booked, that's when the department in Oklahoma realized that he had a warrant for his arrest," said Soviar.
These car-buying scams are not all that uncommon.
"It's pretty sad. Nowadays when times are getting rough, people are just trying every way possible to scam other people," said Raha Ahmadi.
Ahmadi, the owner of "Cars R Us" in Rocklin, has been in the used car business for over 15 years.
"I would recommend that if there is a way for you to know where the customer is coming from, if you get the lead from Facebook or from different sources of advertisem*nt, really just go deep into it and try to see if the customers are legit," said Ahmadi.
Law enforcement agencies recommend finding a well-lit place to do these types of transactions and don’t feel pressured to sell.
"Never go alone. If you're going to meet with somebody else you should also be bringing somebody else. Ask different questions about how many people they might be bringing with them as well to help prepare, but never go alone," said Soviar.
Placer County deputies flew to Oklahoma and brought Tanase back to California. He has since been booked in the Placer County Jail.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter
